Session description: The biogeochemical cycle of silicon, the second most abundant element of the earth’s crust and a key nutrient element for numerous organisms, extends from the continents, via estuaries, […]
Habitable Zones
Posted inHabitable Zones
ROSES-09 Amendment 26: New proposal opportunity in Appendix A.5: Atmospheric CO2 Observations from Space
The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) satellite failed to reach orbit during its launch in February 2009. This mission was designed to obtain highly precise and accurate column average abundances of […]
Posted inComets and Asteroids, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Press Release
NASA Study Shows Asteroids May Have Accelerated Life on Earth
A NASA-funded study indicates that an intense asteroid bombardment nearly 4 billion years ago may not have sterilized the early Earth as completely as previously thought. The asteroids, some the […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Dale Andersen's Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Status Report
Astrobiologist Dale Andersen Tweets From Axel Heiberg Island at 79 Degrees North 27 March 2009
The following Twitter posts were made by Dale Andersen at @daleandersen from McGill Arctic Research Station (MARS) on Axel Heiberg Island on 27 March 2009:
Posted inAstrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life
Evolution of the Modern Nitrogen Cycle
NAI’s Deep Time Drilling Project supported the drilling of several pristine cores from ancient rocks in Western Australia in 2004, and a new paper in Science, led by University of […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Journal articles, Origin & Evolution of Life
A Revised, Hazy Methane Greenhouse for the Archean Earth
Geological and biological evidence suggests that Earth was warm during most of its early history, despite the fainter young Sun. Upper bounds on the atmospheric CO2 concentration in the Late […]
Posted inEducation and Outreach, Habitable Zones
NASA Graduate Student Researchers Program: Biogeochemistry and Microbial Ecology in Systems of AstrobiologicalInterest
Our groups work focuses on characterizing microbial ecology and biogeochemistry in natural ecosystems that are relevant in an astrobiological context. We are particularly interested in understanding how the distribution and […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Marine Subsurface is a Distinct Microbial Habitat
Researchers from NAI’s Penn State, MBL, and UCLA Teams have completed a study of the subseafloor marine biosphere, which may be one of the largest reservoirs of microbial biomass on […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Journal articles
Quantitative Habitability
Astrobiology December 2007, 7(6): 839-851 http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/ast.2007.0137 A framework is proposed for a quantitative approach to studying habitability. Considerations of environmental supply and organismal demand of energy lead to the conclusions […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Journal articles
An Energy Balance Concept for Habitability
Astrobiology December 2007, 7(6): 824-838 http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/ast.2006.0095 Habitability can be formulated as a balance between the biological demand for energy and the corresponding potential for meeting that demand by transduction of […]